


i'm here to stay

by simonsantiago



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 03:58:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6595765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simonsantiago/pseuds/simonsantiago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Simon and Raphael finally meet 12 years after their high school graduation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm here to stay

**Author's Note:**

> I was bored and this happened.

Simon had never been an arty person and he always found art exhibitions boring but here he is; at an art exhibition. He can’t figure out for the life of him why he’s here but considering he’s already in the building, he decides to look around. Some of the art he can really appreciate. They're well done and he knows exactly what they mean. It's not like those art works where it's just paint splattered on to a canvas and they have to figure out the meaning behind them, which don't make sense half the time.

He's about to walk out when a painting catches the corner of his eye.

It’s a painting.

Of him.

The painting is black and grey and Simon is the only one who’s in colour.

Simon is sitting at a table, surrounded by black and grey figures. The faces around him are blank and lifeless but Simon’s head is thrown back and his eyes are closed and he’s laughing. He’s laughing so hard he has a few drops of tears that have slid down his cheeks.

He can’t remember the last time he was this happy.

He reaches out, wanting to touch it, but thinks better of it and retracts his arm. He stares at his face for several minutes without blinking, his eyes roaming the entirety of the painting until they land on the name of the artist.

 _R. Santiago_.

His heart starts to beat faster and faster.

No.

It couldn’t be.

Could it?

“Simon.” He hears, the voice stopping his heart.

He knows that voice, would recognize it anywhere. It’s the voice that used to calm him down when he had panic attacks. It’s the voice that stood up for him when he got bullied and helped him through difficult times. It’s the voice that gave him hope and happiness. It’s the same voice he ached to hear every day, even after they graduated, _especially_ after they graduated.

He freezes for a split second before he turns around towards the voice, his breath catching in his throat when he lays eyes on the man.

12 years later and he’s still as gorgeous as he was in high school. It’s honestly unfair he can still look as good as he did when he was a _teenager_.

Simon hates him for it.

“How are you?” He asks, smiling.

Simon’s heart skips a beat and he curses it. That smile still makes him feel things, still makes him feel like the sun is shining down at him. 12 years later and Raphael Santiago still had the same effect on him as when they were young. He hates the fact that his feelings for Raphael hasn’t disappeared in a decade.

“It’s me.” Simon says, pointing to the painting instead of answering Raphael’s question.

Raphael laughs softly and Simon feels every fibre of his being melt. He’s missed that laugh more than he’d like to admit.

“Very perceptive.” Raphael grins. “It is you.”

He stares at the him and asks, “Why?”

The other mans shrugs, avoiding his gaze. “I missed you.”

Simon feels a lump form in his throat.

“If you hadn’t ended things, you wouldn’t have had to miss me.” He whispers, forcing the lump down.

Raphael looks around before asking, “Can we talk about this in private?”

Simon barely manages a nod but Raphael already has his elbow in his hand and is steering him away from the crowd. He leads them up to the roof of the building and once they get there, Raphael lets go of his elbow. Simon instantly starts to miss the warmth. The other man walks over to the railing and rests his elbow on it. Simon looks at his back for a few beats before joining him. Simon looks out over the city and exhales.

“I didn’t want to leave,” Raphael says, breaking the silence, “I didn’t want to end things but I had to.”

Simon looks at him. “No, you didn’t.”

“If I hadn’t broken up with you you would have followed me to Chicago.”

“Would that have been so bad?”

Raphael looks at him and frowns. “Yes. I didn’t want you to give up your dreams for me, Simon.

“What if you were my dream?” Simon asks.

Raphael was his dream, _still is_. He would have given up Julliard in a heartbeat, almost did, but Raphael had broken up with him. He ended things before they graduated and there was nothing Simon could have done about it. It tore him apart. He knows why Raphael did what he did but it wasn’t his decision to make. It was Simon’s and Raphael had taken that away from him.

The other man stares at him, his eyes holding so much hope and warmth it hurts Simon’s heart. He takes a step forward but immediately takes two steps back, shaking his head. He bites the inside of his cheek and looks at anything but Simon. He can’t help but smile, knowing that he still has the ability to make Raphael nervous. Raphael only bites his cheek when he’s nervous and he constantly used to do it when they first started dating. Simon always thought it was cute.

“Stop biting your cheek.” Simon tells him. “You’ll make it bleed.”

Raphael freezes, his eyes coming up to meet Simon’s. They look at each other for a few seconds, Raphael’s eyes flicking down to Simon’s lips every now and then. Simon takes a step forward and when Raphael doesn’t back away he takes another, and another. He stops when they’re only inches apart. Their chests are almost touching and he can feel Raphael’s slow and steady breathing speed up.

“You gave me up for nothing,” Simon says, looking down at Raphael’s lips. “I turned Julliard down. We both could've gone to Columba.”

“Let’s not dwell on the past.” Raphael says and grabs the front of Simon’s suit. He’s about to argue because, excuse me, Raphael, this is a brand new suit but he doesn’t when he feels soft lips on his.

He closes his eyes and immediately kisses the other man back, his hands going down to his waist, and bringing their bodies together. Raphael’s lips are still so soft and plump and he can’t believe he went this long without them. He nibbles on Raphael’s bottom lip, knowing he loves that shit, and smiles when Raphael lets out a low groan.

“I missed you too, you know.” Simon murmurs against his lips.

Raphael makes a sound in the back of his throat and wraps his arms around Simon’s neck as he deepens the kiss. He pushes his tongue against Simon’s lips for entry but he doesn’t get the chance to open his mouth because Raphael’s phone is tearing them apart.

“Fuck.” Raphael whispers, taking his phone out and reading the text.

He looks at Simon, apologetically, and says, “I have to get back to my opening.”

Simon smiles, nodding. “We can grab coffee tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that. You can't back out of this now.”

A huge grin appears on Raphael’s face and it makes Simon’s heart flutter.

“I'm here to stay this time.” Raphael says and grabs the front of Simon’s suit, giving him one last kiss before leaving the roof.

Simon decides to stay for the rest of the exhibition and watches Raphael from afar.

He doesn't stop smiling for the rest of the night. He feels so giddy he can barely contain it. He didn't think he'd ever meet Raphael ever again. He thought they were done for good and he had given up all hope of talking to or even seeing the other man. But turns out, the universe is on his side, it only took 12 years. But that didn't matter because Raphael is here. He is here and Simon is not letting him go without a fight this time.

Raphael looks over at him and sends him a small wink and Simon's smile widens.

He exhales and he finally feels like he can breathe again because Raphael has returned.

His _happiness_ has returned.


End file.
